


Her Fall is her Downfall

by LittleBunny3593



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Caline stepping up for her students, Lila Rossi Lies, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 21:14:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20607416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleBunny3593/pseuds/LittleBunny3593
Summary: When Caline Bustier is worried about Lila's newly uncovered illness, she proceeds to find a way to help her poor student enjoy herself despite everything. But when a talk with Lila's mother goes in a different direction, Caline's suspicion rises.Spoilers for Season 3 for the latest episode Ladybug





	Her Fall is her Downfall

After Caline heard about Lila’s new illness that makes her say things she doesn’t mean to say, she grew worried. This poor child has gone through so much; dealing with akumas that were after her for no reason, tinnitus, wrist issues, and now this. She was horrified that this young girl was trying her best yet was limited by so many things that she suffered through alone. No parents to guide her through all of these hardships. Lila was in the same issue as Chloé with no one to guide them to live a happier life and Caline hurt to hear that.

Not only that, Marinette seemed to be after Lila, accusing her blindly without any evidence. Now Caline knew that Marinette was quick to jump to her emotions, especially with people she didn’t like, but it was odd for Marinette to be so avidly antagonistic towards another fellow classmate.

So Caline did what she did best; mediate. She asked Lila privately if she could speak with her mother to talk about Marinette to at least tell her what’s been happening at school. Lila agreed sweetly, giving her mother’s phone number to the teacher so they could schedule a call. What Caline didn’t tell Lila was that she was mainly going to talk about Lila’s physical health and what can be done in school to make sure she’s healthy and happy. Caline knew that a short talk with Marinette could teach the girl, just how she talked to Marinette before about Chloé.

They planned to meet up at Le Grand Paris since Mme. Rossi had a meeting there earlier in the day. The two met up and Caline greeted the friendly woman with a warm smile. They chatted over some coffee as they sat in the lobby, people milling in and out at their leisure. 

“I heard that Lila was having issues with a girl by the name of Marinette,” Mme. Rossi started with a look of concern as they got to the main point of their meeting.

“Yes, I was going to mention that. Lila has been having many issues with her due to Marinette being rude towards Lila’s illnesses.”

“Illnesses?” Mme. Rossi looked confused. Caline looked surprised, how could Lila’s own mother not know about all of these illnesses that plagued her daughter day after day?

“Her sprained wrist, her former case of severe tinnitus, her sickness that makes her say things without meaning to? And her now injured knee?”

“What?” Mme. Rossie was puzzled, “I went with Lila to the doctor’s last week after M. Damcoles contacted me saying she injured her knee but she was perfectly fine. Lila had no complaints about anything and even said she was having a wonderful time at school. I only heard about this Marinette incident when Lila brought it up to me in tears saying she couldn’t take the bullying anymore and was tired of being silenced.”

“So you’re saying Lila never had tinnitus or any of those issues?” Caline asked tentatively.

“No, I can email you her medical records to show you. It’s actually a relief for me that Lila is extremely healthy considering how much we move. You never know what she can catch when traveling to different countries, but to my relief she rarely gets sick.”

“But… Lila told us she had tinnitus, a sprained wrist, and this new illness that messes with her mind and says things she doesn’t want to say…” Caline trailed off doubtfully.

“That doesn’t sound like Lila to me. She would never say something that absurd,” Mme. Rossi said. That struck a chord with Caline who frowned into her coffee as she sipped it.

_ “She’s lying, Mlle. Bustier!” _ Marinette’s desperate voice echoed in the back of her mind, her pleading eyes looking at her teacher in hopes that she would listen.

“... Maybe that was another student that told me that. By the way, what did Lila say that Marinette does to her?” Mlle. Bustier asked. Mme. Rossi put her cup down and leaned forward, concern with a hint of anger etched on her features.

“She said that not only did Marinette push her down, but she also cornered her in the bathroom and mocked her. There was also the napkin incident where Marinette threw a napkin at her friend but Lila thankfully caught it. She’s also said that there were other previous cases of Marinette insulting her and calling her mean names. She even threatened that if my daughter said anything about this, then Marinette would make sure Lila lost all of her friends in school.”

“That’s concerning,” Caline said and Mme. Rossi nodded fervently.

“I know! I was horrified when I heard this and so I was hoping you could talk to Marinette about this. I can’t have my child get bullied when she’s been through so much with the constant moving.”

“I’ll talk to Marinette tomorrow about this,” she said and the two bid farewell, Mme. Rossi promising to send her the email as fast as possible.

True to her word, the email came in before school started and Caline checked over the medical records. Not only that, she contacted the doctor and asked if there was anything she could do to help Lila and her condition but the doctor also said Lila Rossi was a healthy girl. There was nothing wrong with Lila.

Then why did she lie?

The students started filing into class and greeted the teacher happily as they entered, Lila coming over with a somber look.

“I heard you talked with my mother about everything Marinette has done to me. I’m just so tired of it all,” she simpered.

“I’ll talk with Marinette at lunch, for now you can take it easy and relax. You need to rest that knee of yours,” Caline said and Lila nodded before going to her seat, Caline frowning at the girl's now noticeable limp that wasn't there when she first walked in. Marinette entered the room, happily chatting with Alya but Caline focused on Lila’s face.

The smile on the girl’s face was almost predatory as she smiled cruelly down at the oblivious girl settling into her seat. Caline had never felt this unsettled before. Something was wrong, but she didn’t know what.

She decided to test it.

“Marinette, would you be able to see me at lunch later today? We need to have a serious discussion,” Caline said and Marinette looked at the teacher in alarm before sharing a confused look with Alya. The other classmates also looked at the girl with a frown, all of them most likely recalling the events from a week before.

Caline watched Lila though, seeing as the girl’s smile grew bigger until Nathaniel turned and started talking to her. Lila’s happy expression shifted to worry so fast Caline could barely believe her eyes.

There was something about that girl, and she was going to get to the bottom of this.

At lunch, Marinette nervously entered the classroom and hesitated when seeing Caline sitting at her desk.

“Mlle. Bustier?” she asked nervously.

“Hello, Marinette. Do you have lunch to eat?” she asked kindly and the girl looked slightly surprised before nodding. Caline offered the seat next to her at the desk and the two sat down, getting their lunches out.

“I have a few questions that I want to ask you, if that’s alright.”

“If this is about Lila-” Marinette started up angrily but Caline put a hand up to stop the student.

“I just want to hear your side of the story, okay?" she continued when Marinette relaxed, "When was the first time Lila ever approached you in a way that made you uncomfortable?”

Marinette faltered, even looking guilty as she rubbed her arm.

“I promise that whatever you say won’t be used against you, I just want to know. I need to know so I can help you,” Caline said soothingly and that seemed to get the girl to speak up.

“It was after the seating arrangements the first day when Lila said she had tinnitus. I knew she was lying about it just so she could sit next to Adrien. She was curled up next to him like Chloé does and he looked really uncomfortable which got me upset. So then when she was having everyone grab her things for her at lunch while she complained about her wrist I just… got upset about it. She was fine in class but then she has all the sudden can’t do anything? It doesn’t make sense!” she exclaimed before realizing her emotions and settled down, “Sorry.”

“What happened after that?”

“Well, I threw the napkin at her to prove that she could use her wrist but then she complained about it even more and everyone got mad so I went to the bathroom to calm down. She followed me there and…” Marinette started to look ashamed but Caline had to know.

“And what happened?”

“She said she wanted to be friends, but she assumed I didn’t just because of Adrien which is completely absurd because while I do like him I’m not going to stop him from-” Marinette squeaked and covered her mouth as she let her crush slip.

“I know Marinette, it’s okay,” she comforted the girl. She had felt that was the case but wasn't sure until Marinette confirmed her feelings for the boy seated in front of her.

“Is it that obvious?” Marinette paled as she whispered.

“No, please continue,” Caline said and Marinette took a second to calm herself before she continued.

“Anyway, after she said she wanted to be friends I told her until she stops lying then we can never be friends. That’s when she told me the truth. How she tells people what they want to hear and that helps her get people to like her. Then she said that she would make sure I wouldn’t have any friends if I didn’t support her,” Marinette said glumly.

“What did you tell her after that?”

“I told her I didn't care because I knew my friends would support me. After the Chameleon incident, she started messing up her lies so I went to confront her, but Adrien stopped me saying that even if I did expose her, nothing would benefit. Lila would only be more angry so it was better that we both knew the truth about her so we could support one another.”

“Adrien knows she’s lying?” Caline asked, shocked by the news. Marinette nodded.

“He and I were both there when Lila said she was best friends with Ladybug which doesn’t make sense because Lila had just arrived to Paris. Then Ladybug appeared and confronted Lila right after that saying they weren’t friends and Lila wasn’t a superhero.”

“Lila said that she was friends with Ladybug? How did you find out?” Calined asked and watched Marinette look sheepish.

“I was kind of following them because I didn’t trust Lila so I overheard her saying that to Adrien. She also stole a book of his but I found it and returned it to M. Agreste.”

“She stole his book?” Caline couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“And threw it in the trash so Adrien wouldn’t see her with it,” Marinette confirmed.

“So then afterwards he agreed that you two would stick together?” Caline asked and Marinette nodded.

“That’s why he was trying to defend me the day I got expelled.”

“Is Adrien here in school right now?” she asked but Marinette didn’t know.

“You stay here and eat your lunch, I’ll see if he’s here,” Caline said and Marinette agreed. She got started on her food while Caline left, looking for the boy to get the answers she needed, her thoughts a whirl.

So Lila had approached Marinette like this before, and the lies that Lila had told her mother were actually the reversed roles, the Italian girl threatening Marinette so she wouldn't lose all of her friends. The book was another confusing aspect. Why steal it from Adrien? Maybe she was using it as a means to get closer to Adrien, seeing how she lied about being a superhero in order to get his attention.

She found Adrien at the cafeteria and had him come into the room where they could talk. Adrien looked confused as he settled down into the extra chair Caline brought out, him and Marinette sitting side by side.

“I have a couple of questions about the day Lila first arrived. What did you do when you met her?”

“We went to the library to study but she caught me looking at one of my father’s books and was interested in it. She told me she had a secret she wanted to tell me after school in the park so I agreed to meet her because I was curious. When I did, she told me about being a superhero that was stronger than Ladybug and how they were best friends, but then Ladybug found us and confronted her about the situation. Later on after the whole fight with Volpina, I realized my father’s book was missing. He got really mad at me for losing it but then he somehow found it the next day.”

“Marinette was the one that found it, she actually found it in the trash where you were at the park,” Caline said and Adrien looked at Marinette in surprise.

“You were the one that found it?” he asked in awe. Marinette started to stammer out an answer but Caline saved the flustered girl.

“She said she was there with a girl she babysits when Marinette spotted as as they were throwing away some trash. She recalled that you had been grounded for losing your father’s book and figured this must be it.”

“Thank you so much, Marinette!” Adrien thanked the girl and she gave a weak smile. Caline couldn’t help but smile at the two of them.

“Back on topic, at that moment you knew Lila was a liar?” she asked and when Adrien confirmed with a nod she continued, “And did you try to stop her afterwards from lying?”

“She got upset when I did initially say I didn't want to be friends if she lied, but then later came back saying she wouldn’t lie to me anymore. That’s when she kissed my cheek and I woke up in a locker.”

“A locker?” Caline raised an eyebrow but Marinette nodded.

“Chameleon. Lila must’ve taken the akuma that was targeting me.”

“There was an akuma targeting you?” Adrien asked in horror and Marinette gave another serious nod.

“Lila being upset probably attracted the akuma that was already set loose, like with your birthday,” Marinette recalled to Caline and she remembered that the akuma that had been targeting Marinette turned onto herself when feeling Caline's fear for her students.

“Why was there an akuma targeting you?” Adrien asked.

“Marinette was threatened by Lila that if she didn’t go along with Lila’s plans, then Lila would make sure Marinette lost all of her friends,” Caline informed Adrien who was stunned. “Have there been any other incidents like that?” Caline turned to Marinette.

“There was only small things but the latest issue was me getting expelled,” Marinette sighed and Adrien put a comforting hand on Marinette’s back before turning to his teacher.

“Marinette would never cheat on a test and never steal. She’s class president for a reason and I believe her,” he stated firmly and Marinette gave him a grateful smile.

Caline smiled, “I believe her too. It’s not like Marinette to do something like that and now it makes more sense why you are always arguing with her. But we do have one issue though.”

“What’s that?” the two asked.

“We don’t have any evidence that proves you are innocent, and there’s nothing that proves Lila wrong. Not only that, everyone believes Lila at this point. I managed to realize her lies when talking to her mother who stated that Lila doesn’t have any medical conditions at all which was suspicious. For now we can’t do anything, and I especially can’t because Lila thinks I believe her. But you both can help me prove Lila wrong.”

“How?” they asked.

“The next time Lila confronts you both when you’re alone, try to record what she says. She might say something that reveals the truth. But I don’t want you both to antagonize her into saying anything or else it’ll look bad on your part. Can I trust you both with this?” Caline asked and the two nodded in unison, eyes determined. Caline couldn’t help but smile at this.

“I’ll let you finish your lunch in peace, I’ll be on my way,” she said and Adrien thanked her before resuming his meal. Caline gave a little knowing smile to Marinette who blushed.

Caline, confident that her students would succeed, walked out of the classroom with lifted spirits. Now all that was left on her part was to find out how Lila managed her trick with the stolen test scores and the necklace in the locker, hoping everything would come together in the end.


End file.
